Indoor Track Team Prepares for MACS, Nationals

By: James Reagan

Posted: 2/25/10

On Saturday February 27, Messiah's track and field team will compete for a MAC championship, brimming with confidence following a superb season.

One of the team's greatest strengths is that they are skilled in multiple events. Senior Eddy Palmer compares the team to the church. "I have always thought of track and field as the body of Christ because there are so many different events and each person brings their own unique skills and abilities to make a working team."

The men's team is currently ranked 64th in the nation. That ranking is a bit deceiving; the team has performed very well this year. Last Saturday, the men's 4x1600 meter relay team smashed a school record, crossing the line with a time of 17:54.31. Sophomore Drew Melnick led the sprinting team with a school record 67.56 in the 500-meter dash. Fellow sophomore Tyler Newhook has been extremely impressive, breaking the school record in the mile at 4:20.30. Team Captain Palmer has also had a great year and has provisionally qualified for nationals, following an impressive duel against former Messiah All-American Patrick Roach in the 800 meter race. The Men's DMR (Distance Medley Relay) team also picked up a school record with a 10:10.31 finish; the team is comprised of senior Peter Shenk, Melnick, Palmer, and Newhook.

The women's team is ranked at an impressive 11th in the NCAA Division III. Senior Kristen Bates, who was an All-American last year, broke the school record in the 60 Meter HH with an 8.81 finish. Junior Grace Kaste has broken the school records in the 1000-meter run and the mile run with 3:00.89 and 5:12.49 finishes respectively. Also, the women's DMR broke a Messiah school record with a 12:11.31 finish. Additionally, the women's 4x1600M relay completely demolished the old school record by over 43 seconds, posting a new best of 21:52.87. The women's team has also had success in the shot put event, with first year student Hilary Pelkey making her mark with a new school record of 37 feet and 6 inches.

The track season is a long one, lasting from December to May with indoor leading right to outdoor. But the team is not fatigued and is still excited about the season. Senior Peter Shenk comments, "There's a lot more intensity indoors this year with more people qualifying for MACS."

With all the time that is spent practicing together and performing at meets, the team has become very unified. They go through a lot together, from the ups of a personal record to the lows of hill workouts on Mondays. Sophomore Lauren Harte notices, "There always seems to be someone cheering for their teammates." Senior Erin Rhodes also believes that "the team is more unified this year."

The MACS competition takes place this Saturday at Lehigh University. For many athletes on the team, this will be their last meet of the indoor season and they wish for nothing more than to win the meet. Head Coach Dale Fogelsanger regularly encourages the team to dream big and create goals for themselves. And now is the time of the season for some of these goals to be realized. Harte sums it up by saying, "We have all got to remain focused and get ready to do what we do best--compete for the glory of God."